


Reigning in the Great King

by Barelylivin



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: OC, Slow Burn, idk how to do tags so here we are
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-24
Updated: 2020-10-21
Packaged: 2021-03-06 23:42:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 6,761
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26077405
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Barelylivin/pseuds/Barelylivin
Summary: It started as an offer to help but somehow spiralled into what it became. But what did it become?
Relationships: Oikawa Tooru/Original Character(s)
Kudos: 1





	1. Rock Meet Bottom

Rachel Brooks just arrived to the Miyagi prefecture from Canada, with no SIM card, no wifi, no idea where she was and the sun set like an hour ago...

In other words, the prime target for a robber and completely lost. 

Lugging around her suitcase and duffel bag while trying to make sense of the minimal directions her dad gave to the house seems like a lost cause. At this point she just wanted her bed. Sighing, she shoved the paper of directions into her oversized hoodie and checked her progress so far.

Yep, still lost. 

At this time street lights were flickering on and there was no one in the close vicinity. Was the universe giving her a cosmic "fuck you"? Stopping under a street lamp she pulled out her phone and hoped for some free wifi; lo and behold, none. At this moment Rachel was contemplating if she could just sleep on the spot and not wake up murdered or robbed because that would suck big time. 

Murphy's Law; the title of her autobiography right now.

——————————————————————————

Oikawa was really regretting staying behind to practice. It was a lot later than he expected to stay and his knee was starting to throb. He was not looking forward to the walk to the station as he locked the gymnasium. 

Limping, he made his way to the entrance but that was as far as he went. Crap, it felt like his knee was on fire now. He stopped when he landed wrong on a serve and thought it wouldn't be to bad since he didn't keep going like usual but it seems like the adrenaline wore off. He was fucked once Iwa finds out. 

Straightening himself out and leaning on the wall of the school gate he let out a deep breath and decided to call a cab. Trying to tough it out to walk home would be like signing a death wish knowing Iwa-chan. 

Fishing out his phone he busied himself with looking up the number for the cab service until he was interrupted by a loud,

"Excuse me!"

Looking up from his screen he noticed a girl half way up the block. Under the light he took note of her casual wear consisting of an oversized hoodie, yoga pants and worn white sneakers. A loose bun seemed to finish her look and next to her was a large luggage and a completely stuffed duffel bag. 

"Yes? Can I help you?" Oikawa asked as he did best to ignore the throbbing pain from his knee and plaster on a smile. 

On a normal day he would've taken an interest with her since she seemed new. And new was always interesting to Oikawa. But right now he has other things to worry about and he really doesn't think he could walk from his current spot without screaming out in pain if he had to help her. 

Thankfully he didn't have to move at all when the girl picked up her bags and carted them towards him. 

"Hi, I'm Rachel Brooks and I was wondering if it's alright to ask of you to call a cab for me," Rachel said. 

Oikawa chuckled at her impeccable timing. "You're just in luck. I was just about to call one. I'm Oikawa Tōru by the way".

"Oh my god thank you so much! You are quite literally my savior!" Rachel threw her hands up in exclamation.

Oikawa simply smiled at her antics as he made the call. She really must be desperate he mused. After confirming pick up at Aoba Josai he raised an eyebrow at the sight before him. The girl was now just staring at him. 

"Um, Brooks-san? The cab should be here in 10 minutes." 

"Alrighty. Thanks again for this Oikawa-san. You have no idea how ready I was to give up on life before you came by. Also no need to call me by my last name. I'm not used to the concept yet and it makes me feel old," Rachel beamed up at him. 

"Mmmkay," he hummed. "Then I'll call you Rae-chan! Feel free to call me by my first name too if its more comfortable for you. And it was no problem really." 

"Well if I'm going to be Rae then I'll dub thee Ru-kun. Now we both have nicknames," Rachel smiled.

Even though Oikawa was mentally prepared to allow a girl, a stranger no less, to call him by his first name out of consideration he was definitely not ready for the nickname. Though he really only has himself to blame since he was the one to call her by a nickname first. But still, the sudden embarrassment from it came crashing. He was glad that he most likely wouldn’t meet this girl again and be subjected as ‘Ru-kun’. 

He was pulled out of his thoughts when the cab arrived earlier than expected. 

"Come on Ru-kun our cab is here," Rachel hollered as she was helping the driver load her luggage into the trunk. 

Oikawa froze once more. Did she just say 'our'? Were they splitting a cab? His knee was still stinging and his leg was starting to feel numb from the blood rushing down. How was he supposed to walk the short distance to the car without folding like a god damn lawn chair? Having a strange, foreign girl see him at his lowest was not on his bucket list. 

"Rae-chan you go ahead. I'll just get another cab. It won't do if two strangers got in a cab together," Oikawa was secretly hoping that she wasn't a super carefree girl who gets into cars with strangers. 

Rachel turned to him and quirked her brow. 

"What are you talking about Ru? Splitting a cab is no big deal and we've already got nicknames for each other. We're practically best friends in my books. Besides I'll be starting at your school next week. I noticed the name on your jacket earlier. See, nothing to worry about," Rachel listed off. 

Fuck.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this is my first fanfic and I honestly don't know where I'm going with this but I'm going.
> 
> Let me know how it is so far!


	2. Just a Rae of Sunshine

Rachel Brooks, she'd admit that two months ago, when her dad won custody and shipped her off to a property he owned in Japan while he did his business trips around Asia, she had thought her life plan was officially tossed. She really wasn't expecting to move for her last year of high school. Having to start fresh was going to be a pain but she went with it anyways. Not like she had any choice on the matter.

But right now was not the time to be contemplating on how she ended up in this situation. Right now she had to figure out why this boy she met precisely 7 minutes ago refuses to enter the car with her. Actually, that sounds like the start of a murder mystery, but that's besides the point! It's definitely beyond late now and if she let a pretty boy like him wait here alone he might get mugged, or worse!

Hands on her hips, she assessed Oikawa. He hasn't moved a single inch from the wall he was leaning on. He's practically white knuckling his phone and was he sweating? His jacket read 'Volleyball Club' so she'd assume he stayed behind for practice but he shouldn't be sweating while standing still on a chilly night.

"Hey Ru are you okay?"

"I'm perfectly fine Rae-chan," he smiled. "But you should really get going. It's getting late now and it's not polite to make the driver wait you know." Oikawa really needed this girl to leave him alone. His patience for her was dying slowly along with his knee. It really was singing something fierce. This was getting aggravating.

"Tōru I worked enough retail to know a fake ass smile when I see one," Rachel huffed. "Just be real with me here. Are you hurt or something?" An injury was her best bet considering how common it is for athletes.

Oikawa dropped his smile. He was too exhausted to keep up any pretty boy facade right now.

"Look, I helped you already. We're strangers, you approaching me could've been stupidly dangerous you know. And I'm not interested in whatever it is you're trying to pull here," Oikawa grounded out.

His eyes narrowed almost into a glare and Rachel gave him a challenging look in return. "Geez, you're in a mood," she muttered as she stalked forward to him.

Stopping a step in front of Tōru Rachel straightened to her full height of 5,8 and continued to size him up. Then she made the first move.

"What are you doing!"

She was quick to grab his arm and sling it over her shoulders. "I'm not dumb Ru. I know what it's like to have an injury," she blinked up at him. "...Did I get the right side?"

Oikawa could not believe the audacity of the girl and simply nodded. "Have you never heard of personal space? I think you just about ignored every social etiquette."

"You're just too stubborn to accept my help."

"Are you always this pushy?"

"Are you always this moody?" She quipped back.

"Touché."

Oikawa gave up with Rachel and just let her help him to the cab. He felt some tensions release as she carried his weight almost effortlessly.

—————————————————————————-

Oikawa had no words to describe the cab situation now. There he sat, sideways in the backseat, facing Rachel where she had his right leg propped up on her lap. She was completely focused on assessing his knee. As if it wasn't weird enough being this intimate with a stranger the cab driver has been giving them odd looks in the mirror.

The cabbie probably saw their frustrated spat earlier and was just as confused.

They were heading to his house first but Rachel was quick to ask to stop by a convenient store before that for ice.

"You know I can ice it by myself at home."

Rachel was holding a bag of ice over his knee carefully as to not let the full weight of it cause more pain.

"Yeah but its good to do it as soon as possible," Rachel adjusted the ice in her hands. It was freezing her fingers since there wasn't a towel she could use.

"Hey Ru do you have a foam roller at home?"

"No, am I supposed to have one? And what happened to honorifics Rae-chan?" He noticed earlier but it wasn't his main concern then.

"Bring me the Avatar if you wish to restore your honorific," Rachel stated flatly.

His head fell forward as he tried to muffle his mouth.

"Did you just-!" He wheezed.

Rachel smiled at his reaction. She was glad he seemed to relax even just a little. But because of the lightened mood she decided to hold of on telling him what probably caused the sprain on his knee. If he knew now then it might linger in his thoughts and make him restless. Rachel hoped he'd just fall asleep once they reached his home.

They fell into a comfortable silence then.

——————————————————————————

The cab pulled up in front of his gate well into the evening. Oikawa sluggishly felt Rachel assist him out the car and have him over her shoulder again.

"How far do you want me to go? I can help you to your door, couch or bed," she mused taking note of his two story house. It would be a pain to lug him up stairs if that's where his bedroom is.

"Oh now you're being considerate of personal boundaries?" Oikawa expected her to just barge in without question.

"Or I could just pitch you onto your driveway. Would you prefer that?"

"...Couch is fine," Oikawa sighed.

——————————————————————————

Rachel had Oikawa settled in as quietly as they could on the couch. Making sure his family doesn't wake up to find a strange girl in the living room was the goal tonight. Rachel quickly made the trip to the car to get his bag and the ice.

Grabbing a few throw pillows she tucked them under his leg gently to keep it up.

"Anything else before I go?"

"This is good, thanks." Oikawa said.

"Alrighty then. Well if you need anything though let me know. I'll get you a foam roller tomorrow as thanks for the cab. Now rest up and see ya Ru."

Oikawa couldn't get a word in before she sped out the door.

How the hell was he suppose to contact her? But it's not like he would anyways.

Oikawa tried to relax. This night was excruciatingly exhausting. Sleep was welcomed but it seemed to escape him when his phone vibrated 10 minutes later. Most people would ignore it in favour of sleep but Oikawa was not most people.

"Oh you've got to be shitting me," Oikawa gaped at the illuminated screen.

Rachel Brooks (@Rae._.Brooks) has requested to follow you.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thoughts? Questions?
> 
> Honestly gave myself a high-five for that ATLA reference.
> 
> It's 2 am and I word vomited whatever I could hope you like it.


	3. Knock knock! Joke’s on me

It was close to 3 pm when Rachel shifted in her bed. The sun was persistent in getting through the blinds. Though she was exhausted last night she was up till 4 am. Sadly, she spent that time just exploring the barren, yet clean, house. She did nothing productive and still had all the unpacking left to do. But c'est la vie she had time and other priorities. 

Rachel flopped onto her back. Turning her head she looked to the left at the opened window. It was quiet here compared to the bustling city life she was used to hearing. Quiet would've been peaceful but the silence was deafening when she had the whole house to herself. 

Sighing, Rachel dragged herself out of bed. From the custody battle, then the last minute packing, sorting the legal papers, the long flight here, the commute to Miyagi, meeting and dealing with Oikawa, she felt drained. Right now her was body was feeling like lead. 

Stumbling into the washroom she rubbed the sleep from her eyes and glanced at the mirror. Gross. She looked and felt gross. 16 hours on a flight with no break plus a 2 hour train from Tokyo to Miyagi. Bottom line, Rachel wanted a fucking shower. 

Walking back into the room she claimed she grabbed her duffle bag. Pausing in front of her nightstand where her phone was charging she gave it a contemplative look. 

She was grateful to discover last night that the cable and internet were set up already. She had immediately added Oikawa on social media in case he needed anything but based on the lack of notifications he seem fine on his own. 

The plan now is to head to the mall after her shower to grab a few things as well as the foam roller for Oikawa as thanks. Maybe she should get a brace too for extra measure. Seriously, he strained his knee to such a degree but thankfully it's not at a point some rest and strengthening wouldn't fix. 

She would have to go to his house again to drop it off so it'll be good to send him a message now as a heads up. 

But now for that desperately needed shower. 

——————————————————————————

"Seriously Tōru you need to take better care of yourself. It hasn't been that long since your last injury."

"Sorry mom. I'll be more careful next time," Oikawa gave her sheepish smile. "I promise!" 

"Okay but you should still rest while you can," she hummed as she closed his door. 

Oikawa sighed. He was woken up from the couch early in the morning by his startled mom demanding to know what happened. After some explaining, minus the parts about Rachel, and a long lecture he took a long shower. He did sleep in his jersey after all. 

Oikawa found that he was able to apply weight and bend his knee better than last night though not yet at %100. Even so, he was still made to rest under his mom's sharp watch. 

Iwa-chan somehow hasn't found out what happened yet. Got to count your blessings with that. 

Still, this was definitely not how he was planning on spending the weekend. 

Boredom quickly set in. Maybe a nap will make the day pass faster. 

——————————————————————————

First on the list once she reached the mall was to find a telephone service. 

"Unlimited data! Signal! Oh how missed thee!" Rachel dramatically cried. 

After picking up some skincare Rachel wasn't really in need for anything else. She had time to grab a drink and browse around the area before heading to the local sporting goods store. 

She grabbed the foam roller first then went looking for a good knee brace. There were 3 main colours to choose from. The options were black, white and a horrendously bright red. Obviously red was out of the question. Now Rachel doesn't know what colour Oikawa wears so she has a 50% chance to get this right. If she gets it wrong then Oikawa would be rocking mismatched colours since she'll still force it on him. 

Going with the colour she uses Rachel went to add a water bottle and an actual volleyball to her list since she couldn't pack them into her luggage. 

Rachel made her purchases but soon realized the imminent struggle to come. In one hand she still had her drink as well as her phone juggled within her fingers and on the other were 3 bags. 2 of which were pretty bulky due to the packaging. 

Guess the plan to take transit is out the window 'cause screw that.

——————————————————————————

"Tōru! You have a guest. Are you even awake?" 

Oikawa groaned into his pillow. If it was who he thinks it is then he should probably greet them as fast as he could. Delaying would only get them angrier. Pushing himself up from the futon he made his way to the stairs. 

There on the living room couch he saw a familiar glare. 

"Hi Iwa-chan. You know if you keep glaring like that your face might get stuck. Or maybe it already is," Oikawa chuckled. He prayed that his mom didn't say anything about what happened. 

"Shut up trashykawa!" Iwaizumi stood with a familiar look of anger. "What the hell do you think you're doing getting injured! Again!" 

Okay so his mom betrayed him. 

"Iwa I -," Oikawa was quickly cut off. 

"No. You're the one that decided to stay behind and practice serves. You're the one that decided to keep going and overwork your knee. So don't give me some lame excuse 'cause you can't talk your way out of this. You're just lucky it's still the start of the season and not during a tournament," Iwaizumi grounded out at each step he took towards Oikawa. 

Oikawa was cornered. In front of him was a raging Iwa-chan ready to raise hell and lecture him until his ears bled. He knew he was about to be told off for not taking care of himself but his best friend looked like he would be adding in a few punches to really get his point across. 

Injured or not Iwaizumi would not hold back. Oikawa put his hands up and quickly glanced toward the kitchen at his mother. Surely she won't let Iwa's tirade on her injured son continue. Well those hopes were dashed at the smile she gave. She was definitely not on his side here. 

But before Iwaizumi continue his war path towards Oikawa they were interipted by the chime of the doorbell. 

"I'll get it!" Oikawa quickly volunteered himself and made his escape. 

Hopefully it was Mattsun. Mattsun is level headed and might be able to calm Iwa down. 

Oikawa opened the door. 

"Jesus Christ!" For full disclosure, it was not Jesus. 

This had to be a joke. Was this karma? He already had Iwa up his ass and now she's here too. Why was she even here?!

Rachel's laugh rang through his ears. Oikawa's face contorted with emotions she couldn't even pinpoint. 

Yeah, this really wasn't how he planned his weekend to be.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wanted to get this chapter out before school starts back up.   
> Still don't know how this story will pan out but progress baby!  
> Let me know your thoughts on it so far~
> 
> 🐥 🐥 🐥 🐥 🐥 🐥 🐥 🐥


	4. What Braincells?

"Just...wh-," Oikawa sighed leaning on the door frame. "Rae-chan, you know it's common courtesy to give a heads up when going to an acquaintance's house." 

Rachel let out a strangled sound of offence. 

"Squeeze me sir, but I did give you a heads up hours ago and gave updates on when I would be here," she huffed. "Also it's not healthy to deny our newfound friendship."

Well Oikawa was napping most of the afternoon and he hadn't bothered to check or bring his phone down when Iwa came. So he guessed that was on him.

"This friendship seems rather one sided." 

"Only because you-"

Rachel's remark was cut off by a voice in the house. 

"Tōru who's at the door?" Oikawa stiffened at his mom's question. 

"Rae-chan, unless you know how to exorcise a demon and a witch, now's not a good time."

"Hilarious coming from the demon king," Rachel snickered. 

"Hey!"

"What? I think it suits you."

"Fine only because I'll be king so that I can order you to exile," Oikawa smiled deviously. 

"That's not fair! Demon king or not you can't exile me without just reason!"

"Too bad since subjects can't argue back," Oikawa taunted. 

"Well I promote myself to advisor so I can argue," she challenged. 

"You can't just promote yourself! It doesn't work like that."

——————————————————————————

Iwaizumi stood in the living room confused, his anger towards Oikawa settled to a degree. He was joined in his stupor near the doorway by Ms. Oikawa.

She had come out of the kitchen when Tōru didn't answer her question on who was here. 

They were able to discern the voice as a girl's and picked up pieces of what was being said from the entrance. So far, from what Iwaizumi gathered, it sounded stupid. 

Dumb as it was Iwaizumi still never heard Oikawa talk to any girl like that. Oikawa would usually do his best to be sickeningly sweet towards any girl. That notion was enough to intrigue Ms. Oikawa and make the first move towards the door. 

———————————————————————————

"Tōru, it's rude to keep guests waiting at the door." His moms sudden appearance had startled him out of his banter with Rachel. 

"Mom! She was just abou-" Oikawa wasn't even given a fighting chance before his mom cut in and moved to stand before Rachel. 

"Hello, I'm Iori Oikawa, Tōru's mother." 

Rachel too was startled by the sudden appearance. The woman claimed to be a mother but could definitely pass as a sister. 

"Hello, I'm Rachel Brooks. Nice to meet you Oikawa-san," she introduced and gave a quick glance towards Oikawa. 

"I'm a friend of Tōru's," Rachel added cheekily. 

Oikawa wanted to pass away. 

"I stopped by to drop off some things for him to help with his knee," she said as she brought up a bag. 

"Oh! How kind of you. Why don't we take this to the living room. Come on in." 

Ms. Oikawa quickly guided Rachel to the living room. Neither Rachel nor Oikawa had any time to protest. 

Rachel really hadn't planned on intruding. Especially since Oikawa said it was a bad time for her to be showing up. 

Ms. Oikawa seated her on the couch next to a perplexed stranger before scurrying back to the kitchen. Oikawa just dragged himself to the armchair on her left and sank into it in defeat. 

The two strangers on the couch exchanged simple pleasantries and names as their mutual friend buried his face into the throw pillow. 

"Is he having a moment with the pillow?" Rachel asked as she turned towards Iwaizumi. 

"Nothing out of the ordinary really," Iwaizumi grinned. 

The only response from Oikawa was a muffled protest of some kind. 

"Soooooo....,Iwaizumi-san are you also a student at Aoba Johsai like Ru?"

Oikawa's head immediately shot up. 

Iwaizumi gave a questioning look at his best friend who was avoiding making eye contact. Ru? As in Tōru? Just what the hell is going between them? 

"Uh yeah," he answered lamely. 

"Cool. I'm starting there next week for 3rd year so I'll probably see you around. Pretty nice to to have met you before hand Iwaizumi-san."

"Hey, how come Iwa-chan gets the honourifics but I still don't?" Oikawa grumbled. 

"Cuz he's nice?"

"You sure have a strange way of showing thanks to the person who helped you," he grunted. 

"My friendship is payment enough," Rachel replied sweetly. 

Oikawa pulled a face. "I want a refund."

"Rude!"

"Rich coming from you," Oikawa laughed. 

Iwaizumi watched silently as they bantered. It was like they were playing hot potato with their shared brain cell. It was still difficult to put a label on what kind of relationship they had but he'll confirm it with Oikawa later if he had to. 

"Anyways I actually got you stuff as thanks you know," Rachel defended and pull up one of her bags. 

Oikawa watched as she brought out a rectangle box, probably the foam roller she was talking about, and a knee pad? 

"Make sure you use them okay. Rolling out your muscles helps prevent injuries. Stretching sometimes isn't enough especially if the muscle is overworked," Rachel explained as she stood and handed him the items. 

Oikawa blinked almost owlishly. Past Rachel he could see Iwa-chan giving him a level stare obviously meaning that he agrees with her. 

Looking back down at the things on his lap he picked up the knee pad. 

"And this is?"

"A level 1 knee brace. It's good for pain relief and adds some support. Level 1 is the most flexible and best for sprains."

Oikawa nodded slowly whereas Iwaizumi was somewhat impressed with her comprehension. 

"Thanks for this Rae-chan. You're a pretty good friend," he gave her sincere smile and Rachel returned it. 

"But you picked white and my knee pads are black. They're gunna clash," Oikawa whined. 

"Aaannndd you ruined it. We were having a moment!"

"Not my fault you picked the wrong colour."

"I had a 50% chance, sue me. You're still gunna wear it!"

Iwaizumi rubbed his brow and sighed. It's like they could go at it forever. If this was going to be them at school....Gods help him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I edited chapter 1 a bit but nothing major. 
> 
> Updates probably might get slow but I'll keep at it
> 
> Thoughts on story progress so far?


	5. Don’t Gamble Kids

Rachel blankly stared at a wall in her desolate home. Maybe she should have accepted Ms. Oikawa's offer to stay for dinner. She'd missed out on proper meals for the past few days. Instead, she just gave a shitty excuse of still having to unpack. Though true in a sense, it wasn't urgent and gods know she wouldn't be doing it anyways. 

Her stomach rumbled and clenched as if to agree she was stupid for leaving. After all there was nothing at home to return to. 

How depressing. 

"I shouldn't be sad. Because sad backwards is das and das not good," she gave a soft chuckle at the joke that reached no one. 

Fuck this. She was going to sleep. Can't be hungry or emotionally constipated when asleep. She wasn't ready to delve into the mess of her feelings and all her issues. 

——————————————————————————

"Sooooo," his mom dragged out. "Tell us about 'Rae-chan'."

Oikawa groaned. Rachel had practically bolted when his mom tried to corner her into staying for dinner. That traitor, she left him to deal with the interrogation alone. 

"I already told you though," he whined. 

"That she's a stranger you helped last night who in turn helped you too. But you think she could be an alien because you think she's weird," Iwaizumi summarized. 

"Yes!"

"Like hell! No way you two just met."

"Why is it so hard to believe?" Oikawa was fighting a losing battle here. 

"Well you never talk or act like that to strangers. And you most definitely don't when it comes to girls."

"She just caught me at a bad time. That's it." Oikawa could feel a migraine forming. This conversation had been going in circles for the past 30 minutes already. "Seriously, how come I'm getting grilled like this. Why didn't you ask her about it since it seems you two apparently can't trust me?," he pouted. 

"Well that was the plan but she had to leave early. Guess we'll have to wait until the next time she comes over," his mom piped in. 

"What?"

His mom only smiled in return. Next time? What next time? There is no next time! 

Oikawa needed an aspirin. 

——————————————————————————

Monday, the best day of the week to be productive. Sike. Rachel crawled out of bed sometime past noon again. With no obligations, she was left with nothing to do. She had spent Sunday on scrolling through social media, staring at the ceiling or just sleeping. 

She was falling back into old routines which was a bad sign. She had to do something today or she might lose it. 

Maybe she could do something with the ceiling. If she was gunna stare at it might as well make it something worth staring at. 

——————————————————————————

Oikawa hummed a little tune under his breath as he waited for the train. Monday's meant a day off from practice and but he would have to pick up Takeru later on from his volleyball drop in. He'd usually help out but he was banned from volleyball for the week by Iwa-chan. 

He sighed. Even coach agreed for him not to participate in practice until he was properly rested or at least until he got cleared by the school nurse. 

"Hey Ru!"

No fucking way. Her timing is impeccable. 

He can already feel the curious stares of the other Aoba Johsei students who were also on the platform. He'll probably hear about this tomorrow.

Please let this be an auditory hallucination. 

"Fancy seeing you so soon." 

"Rae-chan," he turned slightly to see her coming up behind him. It wasn't a hallucination. 

"What brings you here?" He might as well just go with it. He'll deal with possible rumours later. 

"Just on my way back from buying some stuff. You on your way home too?" 

"Yep. Just to kill some time before picking up my nephew though."

"You're an uncle?" Rachel thought he was an only child. 

"Well yeah. Having a nephew usually implies that," he quipped. Rachel just rolled her eyes. 

"Anyways, what did you buy? Is it more things for me?" He joked. He saw she had been slightly swinging a pretty full bag at her side. 

"You wish. I got some art stuff and stationary. I'm making glow in the dark stars to stick to my ceiling." Rachel tilted her head when he perked up a little. Maybe he likes astrology? Or space?

He gave it some thought. Maybe she was really was an alien!

"Wouldn't it be easier to just buy the stars?"

"True but there's no fun in that and I'm being extra. If you have time to kill then do you want to join me?" 

Oikawa almost gave himself whiplash. She definitely knows when to drop a bomb. 

"This is the perfect opportunity for us to bond! Oh, and we can even order delivery!" She nodded to herself at her own idea. 

Oikawa quirked a brow at her rising excitement. She was giving him a megawatt smile as she waited for an answer. 

Crap, her smile was contagious. 

Seriously, Rachel is just something else. Every interaction with her is just wild. Is this what culture shock feels like?

His peers would definitely talk about him if he accepts, but then again, when do they not. So really he has nothing to lose. Besides, this might be his chance to see if she was an extra terrestrial. 

"Why not, so what are we ordering?"

——————————————————————————

"MTV welcome to my crib!" 

Oikawa looked around as they walked through the door. The house was huge compared to the ones in his neighborhood! Everything had such a new and modern look to it that he almost couldn't react. 

Rachel just dragged him around giving a tour for the next 10 minutes before ending it in front of her room. 

Fuck, okay so maybe he hadn't thought this hang out through. 

"Uh...Rae-chan? As cool as your house is, is your family home?" 

He hadn't seen anyone on their little tour. It's already crazy that it would be the two of them in her room but even crazier if they were completely alone in the house. So many misunderstandings can potentially happen. 

"Nope,” she popped the ‘p’ as she lead him into her room. “I live alone.”

She went silent as Oikawa studied her from behind.

Rachel unceremoniously dumped the supplies onto the floor and kicked her luggage bags out of the way. 

“So how are we making the stars?” Oikawa knew when it was time to change the subject. Even if he wanted to ask about it. 

“Well we just cut out stars from paper and paint them with the glow in the dark paint. It’s not like it’s rocket science Ru,” she chuckled as she plopped to the floor to organize the supplies. 

“I don’t know,” he shrugged. 

“I half expected you to DIY the glow in the dark paint and whip out some chemicals just to make it interesting,” Oikawa said as he joined her on the floor. 

“Oh, is this not interesting enough? How about a bet then?” She proposed. 

“I’m listening.”

“We make our own stars and whoever sticks the most on the ceiling within a time frame wins. Winnings will be decided on after and loser has to pay for the food.” 

Oikawa didn’t even need to think about it to answer. Ever since he met her, every time they interact, it somehow felt like he lost. In what? Even he didn’t know. 

“I’m in,” he smirked. He was going to win this no matter what. A little sabotage wouldn’t hurt.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it took so long! I was swamped with school and even in my free time I just ended up drawing cuz had major writers block😭
> 
> Let me know what you think about this chapter/story! Also happy to answer questions on character or plot if ya got any~ You can pm/dm me too!
> 
> Still not sure on update schedules but I have a better feel on what to write for the next bit so I think it won't be too long
> 
> 🦔🦔🦔 vs 🐸🐸🐸


	6. Fly Me to the Moon

"You cheating, conniving little, son of a-!" Rachel's frustrated screams echoed and pierced Oikawa's ears. 

Forget monopoly, this is number 1 in her top 10 anime betrayals. 

It was peaceful when they were making the stars; cutting, painting, vibing to music. Sure there was the occasional paint spill by Oikawa that fell onto her clothes. And the moments where his brush went astray and made her face a canvas. She chalked it to him just being clumsy and didn't even bother to clean up. She was focusing completely on making her stars. The more she had the better after all. But in retrospect, now that his smile morphed into an arrogant smirk, it was probably on purpose. 

Everything changed when the part that decided who won the bet came. 

The plan was for each of them to have 5 minutes to try and get as many of their stars on the ceiling. Though, there was a little hiccup since she forgot she didn't have a ladder and they couldn't jump 'cause of Oikawa's knee. So the solution was to grab the broom and mop to reach the ceiling. It added to the challenge so all was well. 

Oikawa went first and managed to get 12 up. 

She went after and got a measly 2 stars because he fucking blocked her! He smacked her broom down at every attempt and hid the rest of her stars until the timer went off. The audacity is astronomical. 

"I win Rae-chan," he sang. 

"You cheating little shit!"

Oikawa gave her a look of fake surprise. "Cheating? Me? I would never!"

"And you knocking my broom off course with your mop isn't cheating?"

"Nope! I'm just clumsy." 

"And how about when you hid the rest of my stars?"

"You're just going blind Rae-chan. They're right here," he exclaimed in a despicably sweet tone as he pulled out the stars. "It's unbecoming to be a sore loser Rae-chan."

Rachel took deep breaths. 

"Fine. You win but you just betrayed the trust of your adviser. This won't end well for you."

"Oh? Are you planning to commit treason against your king?" He challenged. 

"Even as a demon king I still believed you to be a benevolent ruler but it seems I was wrong. For the people I will take up my sword against you. I may have lost the battle but I will not lose this civil war you just started," she declared as she raised the broom at him. She wasn't playing by the rules anymore. This was free for all and the demon king was going down. 

Oikawa laughed. He grabbed the paint in one hand and the mop in the other. 

"En garde."

——————————————————————————

"Hey Rae-chan," Oikawa started as he reached for another sushi in the party tray they ordered. They paused their battle in favour of food. "Do you think the paint will wash off?"

Oikawa bringing paint into the fight created mess for both sides. It was splattered everywhere on them. He embarrassingly let out a screech when she got some on his hair. 

"Probably?" Rachel shrugged. She didn't really check if the paint was washable since she wasn't expecting for things to get messy but she sure hoped it was. Her room was going to light up like a Christmas tree later. 

"I kinda want to see how we'll look once it's dark though," she said. 

It would be interesting to see how they looked with the splatters and smears. Oikawa literally had hand prints on his face. 

"Well I definitely need to wash up a bit before I leave." Sure he naturally got attention but going out like this would get the kind he wouldn't want. 

"Boooooo," she heckled. 

"Wait, let's check right now then since you have to go soon! We can use my closet," Oikawa nearly choked on his sushi in surprised. He was still forcing down rice when she took him by the arm and lead the way. 

——————————————————————————

Oikawa thinks he broke a record of some sort. Alone in a house together, alone in a room together and now alone in a closet together. All under 2 hours. 

"You ready? I'm gunna shut the door now," Oikawa just gave her a nod and she closed her closet door.

Her closet was a walk in but it definitely wasn't meant for 2 people. Even in the dark he can make out the contours of her face with their proximity. The paint did help put a light on her features though. 

There were speckles of paint on her face along with the ones he put on her cheeks. Rachel's clothes had a pattern that almost looks like a sad attempt at tie dye but other wise wasn't covered too much. Her long hair on the other hand was free real estate. It was almost as if she took a light shower under the paint. 

Oikawa's breath was caught in his throat. He wanted to make a snarky remark but somehow she pulled off the look. She looked far from an alien and almost ethereal. 

But she ruined that image when she let out an obnoxious laugh. 

"Your face!" She snorted. 

"Yeah well who's fault is that," he huffed. 

She reach for his face. Her fingers imitating the marks she made. 

"As the artist I'm proud of my work." 

"Of course you are. You practically high-fived my face," he stated flatly. 

"Anyways how long are you going to touch my face? And didn't we talk about personal space?" He muttered. She pulled his face closer and anymore would be dangerous. 

"I thought we agreed that I don't respect it," she gave his face squeeze before finally letting go. 

"You respect everyone's but mine," he complained. 

"Okay so I don't respect yours more specifically. It's 'cause you ticked me off," she dismissed. 

"Anyways, selfie!" Rachel quickly whipped out her phone and snapped a pic. Oikawa just blinked owlishly at the sudden movements. 

"Ew, Ru your face looks hella creepy here. Why'd you show your teeth like that?" Oikawa's face looked almost menacing with the slight glow adding to his eyes and teeth. 

"You're suppose to count down or at least give me time to pose properly! Delete it!" He shrieked and made a reach for the phone but Rachel ducked out of the way and was out the door. 

Rachel stood at the centre of her room while Oikawa stayed by the closet door. Her lips curled into a smirk and his eyes narrowed as they stared each other down. 

"Don't tell me..," Oikawa trailed off in realization. 

"Didn't honestly think I wouldn't get you back, even just a little, did ya?" 

"You're more petty than I thought Rae-chan."

"I was born petty. Afraid demon king?"

"You wish! I got plenty of crowns. I'm also the king of pettiness!" He declared. 

"Seems there's only one way to settle this." 

Oikawa agreed. "En garde 2.0!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Updated under a month! That's a victory right there😭
> 
> Lemme know your thoughts~
> 
> 🐥🐥🐥🐥<<


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